Herbicide History Determines Seed Purchases

By Sara Berg,
SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist

Although 2016 row-crop harvest is still underway, many seed suppliers have started promoting ‘early bird’ incentives on next year’s seed purchases. We all like a good deal when we see one, but it’s important to keep track of field history, and think about your future crop rotation before making decisions.

Figure 1. Atrazine injury on oat. Browning starts on older leaves at the leaf tip and progresses toward the stem. Photo courtesy of R. Klein, et al.

Checking Field History

With the lag in grain markets over the past several months, you might be considering changing your rotation by adding a crop, or maybe you’d like to try out cover crops. This may be a great choice for the agronomics of your farm, but don’t forget to double check your field history.

Rotation Restrictions

Many herbicides have rotation restrictions following application; if a product has a restriction, it is always stated on the label. For example, adding oats as a third crop to an existing corn/soybean rotation is great from a soil health and diverse plant environment aspect,